Terminate

Natasha Deen

Description

Josie's friend Amanda is missing.

But because she's a runaway with a history of drug use and other risky behavior, no one seems to care. Clem, the owner of the community kitchen in Vancouver's Downtown Eastside where Josie works in exchange for food, advises her to just leave well enough alone. Then a young man whose friend is also missing asks her for help. Josie learns that she, along with the other teens who helped her bring down the cop responsible for the death of her entire family, is becoming known on the street as a person who makes sure justice is done. When the battered bodies of homeless teens start filling the city's morgue, Josie and Team Retribution suspect a connection to their missing friends and begin investigating. They discover an underground fight club where at-risk youth are being forced to fight and even kill each other for sport. Josie is captured and may have to enter the ring herself to save her friends.

The RETRIBUTION series: "These interconnected narratives are page-turning reads, offering adventure, intrigue, and satisfying retribution. Jace, Josie, and Raven are fiercely independent, clever, and intelligent protagonists; each has a rich backstory and an engaging narrative voice that hooks readers from the beginning. Will appeal to a wide range of readers, including reluctant readers who need a quick hook." - VOYA

Sujets

• Univers ado
• Suspense
• Suspense
• Young-adult fiction

Informations

• Publié par: Orca Book Publishers
• Date de parution: 18 avril 2017
• Nombre de lectures: 2
• EAN13: 9781459814646
• Langue: English

Extrait

Copyright 2017 Natasha Deen
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording or by any information storage and retrieval system now known or to be invented, without permission in writing from the publisher.
Library and Archives Canada Cataloguing in Publication
Deen, Natasha, author Terminate / Natasha Deen. (Retribution)
Issued in print and electronic formats. ISBN 978-1-4598-1462-2 (paperback).- ISBN 978-1-4598-1463-9 (pdf).- ISBN 978-1-4598-1464-6 (epub)
I. Title. PS 8607. E 444 T 47 2017 j C 813'.6 C 2016-904582- X C 2016-904583-8
First published in the United States, 2017 Library of Congress Control Number: 2016950089
Summary: In this next installment of the high-interest Retribution series, Jo and her friends team up again to figure out why so many homeless teens are ending up in the city morgue.
Orca Book Publishers gratefully acknowledges the support for its publishing programs provided by the following agencies: the Government of Canada through the Canada Book Fund and the Canada Council for the Arts, and the Province of British Columbia through the BC Arts Council and the Book Publishing Tax Credit.
Cover image by Getty Images Author photo by Curtis Comeau
ORCA BOOK PUBLISHERS www.orcabook.com
20 19 18 17 4 3 2 1
For Sven
CONTENTS
ONE
TWO
THREE
FOUR
FIVE
SIX
SEVEN
EIGHT
NINE
TEN
ELEVEN
TWELVE
THIRTEEN
FOURTEEN
FIFTEEN
SIXTEEN
SEVENTEEN
EIGHTEEN
NINETEEN
TWENTY
TWENTY-ONE
TWENTY-TWO
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
ter mi nate ( t r-m -n t)
verb
to end in a particular way or at a particular
place; to cause (something) to end
ONE
When it came to the low-lifes of the world, I was Bad Santa. The criminals better not run, and they better not cry. I was coming to get them, and they knew why.
Last time they had been in my sights, it was so I could avenge my family s murder. This time it was to find a friend who had fallen into darkness. I was going to bring her back to the light. If that cost a couple of bad guys their freedom, a few teeth and some broken bones, I was fine with that.
And I had a no-fail plan. At least, that s what I told myself as I headed into the East Hastings Community Kitchen.
I got three steps in before Clem s rock- and-gravel voice sounded my way. I m getting awful tired of telling you to take off those sunglasses whenever you come in here.
Some people say hello when they see each other. Not Clem and me. That would be too touchy-feely. For us, it was hound-dogging each other. I wore sunglasses to tweak him. He called me out on it to show he had noticed.
Even if it wasn t routine, Clem had a superhero ability to see 360 degrees at once. It was one of the reasons he had been considered one of the best snipers the armed forces had ever known. He was a military guy, all the way. Respect. Loyalty. Teamwork.
In a lot of ways, I looked up to him. Wanted to have the same kind of integrity he did. But there was a danger in caring for people and caring about those around you. Death and loss. In his case, he had lost half his troop and one of his legs.
The last few weeks I had been obsessing about loss. Because now I had a team too. Raven, who was fast becoming a sister from a different mister. Bentley, the smart-aleck brother from another mother. And Jace, who called up too many yet-to-be-named feelings for me to ever feel safe around him.
Sunglasses, Clem repeated. Are you deaf?
You got your head down, I said. No way you know if I m wearing sunglasses or not. I spun left and walked to where he stood by one of the food counters. I waited for the next line in our routine.
As usual, he kept his gaze on the clipboard in his hands. I got a sixth sense.
I pushed the sunglasses onto my head. My phone buzzed, but I ignored it. I knew who was on the line. Raven. She d been riding me about registering at her school. I appreciated her mama-hen routine, but until I found Amanda, I didn t have time for anything else.
Clem looked up, took in the fading bruises from my run-in with Meena and the V llaz ri street gang a few weeks back. He stood and stretched his beefy neck. Better-looking every time I see you.
You re a laugh a minute.
You re alive. Silence. Good-I had fifty bucks riding on whether you d survive whatever stupid scheme you d hatched. Now I can take myself to The Keg for dinner.
Of course I survived. I know better than to come between you and a steak dinner.
Clem slapped me on the back with his clipboard. I winced.
You know I m still healing, right?
Next time, duck, he said.
You giving boxing advice or telling me your dinner plans for next week? I asked.
He almost smiled. You here to work or just exercise your jawbone?
Unlike you, I can do two things at once.
Then stock the shelves, he said. We got a donation from one of the bakeries on Granville. Move the soups and cans and make some room for the bread.
Consider it done. Hey, have you seen Amanda lately?
She s gone, kid. Let it go.
My gut dropped. There was too much truth in his words. But I had to fight. She wouldn t bail-
Clem s mouth twisted. Because she s been such a model of stability?
Okay, so she s had some issues-
He snorted. That girl never met a chemical she didn t like.
If I had lived her life, I would probably have been BFFS with every drug out there too. Yeah, but things are different now-
Because she decided to clean up her life? asked Clem. Get a job, get an education? And all thanks to some mysterious friend .
Uh I mumbled. There are a lot of rules when you call the streets home. One of the big rules is don t trust everyone. In fact, barely trust anyone. And when you find someone you trust, don t ever talk about their business. It wasn t my place to talk about the guy she had met and why she had kept him a secret. And even though I was dying to ask, no way was I going to question Clem on how he knew about all of that.
He pointed to his chest. Soldier. Decorated veteran. Ran all kinds of missions for the military. He pointed at me. Rookie.
I m the Man, Clem continued, giving me a long pointed look. I know and see everything. He set the clipboard on the counter and folded his arms. Then gave me a stare that had probably made the opposing armies toss down their guns in surrender. So how much longer you gonna run around pretending you wear Speedos and not bikinis?
I was too surprised to blink.
His tone became serious. You still in the kind of trouble where you got to pretend you re a boy?
My blush warmed my cheeks, and I was glad my African-Chinese heritage hid it. Not really. It s just habit, and besides, I figured I d give you a heart attack if I suddenly showed up as a girl.
Gotta have a heart for that, kid. Besides, I knew you were a girl the first time I saw you two years ago.
Please.
I see you, kid. He gave me a gentle push in the direction of the soup shelves. I ve always seen you. Amanda too. Trust me-she s gone.
His words made my shoulders go stiff. She d been a friend when I thought I would be alone and lonely forever. It wasn t like her to disappear without a goodbye. I headed to the shelves, happy for the distraction to collect my emotions.
There was a TV by the boxes of food. I left it on the news station. Clem had a thing for staying up-to-date-even though he swore it was all propaganda and lies. I was ten minutes into filling the shelves with soups and canned vegetables when the reporter s voice caught my attention.
Meena Sharma was a decorated Vancouver detective .
I stopped, turning to face the screen.
She was arrested last month in connection with a house fire two years ago -
My heart contracted at the emotionless reporting of the end of my family.
- killed in the blaze -
Murdered , I silently corrected the perky blond with the helmet hair.
- were forty-year-old Emma Ling and her children, Danny, six, and Josephine, fourteen .
Danny, who would never learn to ride a bike without training wheels. Mom, who would never see me graduate from high school. And Emily, a foster kid and friend who was mistaken for me. Even though the reporter was technically wrong about whose body was found that night, she was right on the part that mattered. I had died that night. Burned to ash along with everything I had ever loved in this world.
Sharma remains in critical condition following a prison stabbing- The TV clicked off.
I spun around to see Clem right behind me. Turn it back on! It s important.
He cocked an eyebrow. Why? What do you care about a corrupt cop?
My mind scrambled for a plausible answer. Didn t you say she came in here a few weeks back, looking for Amanda?
I saw her with Amanda.
See? I folded my arms and leaned against the counter. I could ve missed an important clue with the news story. Something that would help me find Amanda.
Clem gave me a look that could shrivel lettuce. But then he shrugged and turned the TV back on. Watch that heart of yours, kid. It ll be your downfall.
I ignored him, my attention on the news story. But the broadcast had already moved on to some dancing-pig video that had gone viral.
I don t know what s worse, said Clem. The lack of real information given in news bites or the fact that the woman can jump from talking about a murdered family to waltzing pork without giving herself whiplash.
I would know the whole story if you hadn t shut off the TV .
What s to know? The cop got what was coming to her, said Clem. Someone stabbed her in the prison washroom. I doubt she ll survive. He strode over to talk to a lanky kid in skinny jeans.
I wished I d been there when she d been stabbed. Wished I could ve been there when she took her last breath.
While Clem directed the kitchen traffic, I texted Raven the news about Meena. Then I waited for a reply. None came, which probably meant she was with Emmett, th